Abstract
Abstract The dung moss Splachnum ampullaceum is reported from a high elevation pitch pine — spruce—sphagnum wetland in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. The only previous collection was made in 1968. This collection is the first to be included in state herbaria. The two collections (made in 1968 and 2005) were found growing on soil (presumably humified dung) in the Allegheny Front region (Spruce Knob and Red Creek Plains, respectively) in the Monongahela National Forest. The distance between the two sites was only 35 km (and 37 years). The abundantly fruiting plants, with conspicuous red setae (6–7 cm long) and two-tone capsules (yellow above, purple and swollen below), were overgrown by Sphagnum, as is typical for this ephemeral moss. Spores from two capsules were introduced onto peat pellets sprinkled with composted cow manure. Protonemata covered the pellets in three weeks and developed into a dense tuft (1.2 cm high after six months in culture) of bright green shoots that showed primarily vert...
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